The Cambridge IGCSE has become the German qualification of choice and is now the most popular international German qualification for
14-16 year old students in many of the over 10,000 international schools in over 160 countries, as well as in public schools in the UK which offer the CIE curriculum.

(1) Why should I choose the Cambridge IGCSE German?

The Cambridge IGCSE German is exceptionally well regarded by universities, employers, educators and learners alike and has an excellent
reputation for its rigorous but fair assessment of the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking, and writing. However, state schools need to be aware that the IGCSE is no longer
counting towards the Performance Measures in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (since June 2017).

Each year, students can take their exams in either of the two exam sessions (May and November/March in India) and retake as and when
necessary without being penalised.

Just like the GCSE equivalents, the qualification does not offer any controlled assessment elements, but is linear and concludes with
final assessments at the end of the two year course.

The qualification is also becoming very popular with students studying in settings outside of schools, referred to as ‘private
candidates’, e.g. home-schooled learners.

Alongside French, Greek, Italian and Spanish, IGCSE German equally weights the four language skills during a single examination series in
May or November (India in March).

Students who took their exams in May will receive their results in the middle of August and those who sat their exams in November in the
middle of January (results in India are released in May for the March exams) and certificates will be issued two months later.

However, unlike other GCSE qualifications the IGCSE offers retakes and students can re-enter six months after they sat their
exams.

(4) Where can I find out more about the current course details (syllabus)?

(5) How does the Cambridge IGCSE German differ from other examination boards’ German GCSE
qualifications?

In the past, 60% of the overall Cambridge IGCSE German grade was achieved by the speaking and writing elements of the assessment.
In the new syllabus, all four skills are assessed equally with 25% each of the overall grade.

There is only one exam paper per skill for all abilities and the four skills are assessed as follows:

The Cambridge IGCSE German topic list includes the following themes and topics:

A Everyday activities: Home life and school; Food, health and fitness

B Personal and social life: Self, family and personal relationships; Holidays and special occasions

C The world around us: Home town and local area; Natural and made Environment; People; places and customs

D The world of work: Continuing education; Careers and employment; Language and communication in the work place

E The international world: Tourism at home and abroad; Life in other countries and communities; World events and issues

Please refer to the PDF file below for direct comparisons of currently available* IGCSE and GCSE German qualifications, including
Cambridge (CIE) and Edexcel/Pearson IGCSEs, as well as AQA, Edexcel/Pearson and Educas GCSEs: